Personal Chef
Salary

Median pay for Personal Chefs in the United States is around $20.25 per hour. Location and career length each impact pay for this group, with the former having the largest influence. The majority of Personal Chefs claim high levels of job satisfaction. Men are slightly outnumbered by their female counterparts who answered the questionnaire, who make up a slight majority at 56 percent. Just under one in three report receiving medical coverage from their employers and a little less than a fifth collect dental insurance. Figures cited in this summary are based on replies to PayScale's salary questionnaire.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

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Job Description for Personal Chef

Personal chefs prepare meals for individuals, families, and sometimes businesses. They can be hired to serve smaller or larger groups, but they generally work in a setting that is more intimate than a restaurant kitchen. Personal chefs work in a kitchen and require a variety of kitchen appliances and culinary tools to prepare meals for the client.

The work of a personal chef is both physical and mental, as personal chefs are often put in charge of managing the budget, shopping, and meal planning for dinner parties and other functions. Personal chefs have to pay special attention to any dietary restrictions or preferences of their employer and plan meals around them. Personal chefs are often under the employ of individuals who are hosting dinner parties, either socially or professionally. Personal chefs may work alone after being given a budget by their employer, but they may also have assistants to help if the meal plan requires more work than one person can handle.

A typical day for a personal chef includes meeting with the client, preparing a meal plan, shopping for the groceries, and showing up to the work site and beginning to prep for meals. In some cases, the meals are frozen and packaged to be reheated by the client at a later date. In the case of dinner parties or other celebrations, the personal chef may serve food to the clients' guests. After meal preparation is finished, the personal chef must clean the workspace.

Employers typically require at least two to five years of culinary experience and culinary training. Personal chefs often have to be flexible regarding their hours, which may require nights and weekends.

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Pay by Experience Level for Personal Chef

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

People who have worked for fewer than five years bring home $40K on average. Median compensation in the five-to-10 year group, however, is higher at approximately $41K. After working for 10 to 20 years, Personal Chefs make a median salary of $46K. Survey respondents who have worked for more than 20 years actually report somewhat lower incomes of $44K.

Personal Chef Advice

What do you wish you knew about your job when you first started out?

Personal Chef in Austin:

"Listen to specific needs."

Listen to specific needs and be open to what the client wants. Offer your menu but don't end at that. Listen!

What is it like working as a Personal Chef?

Personal Chef in Miami:

"Great Lifestyle but stressful at times."

Pros: Not having to wake up early. More relaxed than a normal kitchen. Having to be resourceful and being on the go.

Cons: The rate of pay.
Dealing with different attitudes day to day.
Having to plan around someone else's schedule.